1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an applicator for an adhesive product and in one respect to an apparatus for handling an adhesive tape product having a porous, fibrous or lofty surface opposite the adhesive.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The handling of tape or ribbons, which must be unwound from a roll and advanced to a cutter, is generally done by pulleys or rollers with flanges or by moving the same along a surface having a guide on one edge. Such devices are known in the art. These devices control the tape. They do not control the movement by depending on the tape structure as an element in the guiding function. By such rigidity in the handling the tape may become misaligned and leave the desired path.
The present invention provides a system for guiding the tape by fluxing edges of the tape to form guide edges to follow the edges of a planar guide member.
The material which is to be handled by the apparatus of the present invention is a tape material having a surface which cannot be held by application of a subatmospheric pressure to the surface, i.e., a porous, fibrous or lofty surface secured to a backing or base material and a surface coated with a pressure-sensitive adhesive opposite the lofty surface. A release liner is generally placed over the pressure-sensitive adhesive permitting the material to be convolutely wound. The specific construction of the tape to which the present invention is directed is claimed and described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,009,235 issued Nov. 21, 1961 to G. Mestral, the disclosure of which relates to a fibrous tape material and is incorporated herein by reference.